


Soul Reader [Peterick AU]

by LeoValdezIsHot



Category: Bandom, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Attempted Murder, Based on a Fall Out Boy Song, Blood and Violence, Character Death, F/F, Fall Out Boy References, Fluff and Angst, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lots of Soul Punk references incoming, M/M, Mild Smut, Multi, Murder, Murder Mystery, No real person gets demonized in this story, Patrick's Ability is getting useful I swear, Pete Wentz's Suicide Attempt (Best Buy Incident), Soul Punk Era Patrick Stump, Souls, This is getting way darker than you would expect, Trans Frank Iero, actually multiple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:21:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25821307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeoValdezIsHot/pseuds/LeoValdezIsHot
Summary: Patrick's not an ordinary seventeen year old.He was born with the ability to read other people's souls by looking deep into their eyes.This way, he can find out their alignment - good people are green, bad people are red and people who are neither good nor bad are blue.But that's not the only thing he can do, he can also find out their spirit animal and their biggest fear.The government is interested in him because they want to use him as a judge or a living lie detector - something Patrick absolutely doesn't want to be, so he's always on the run.Unfortunately, his eyes are gleaming all the time, which makes most people afraid of him, so he has no friends, even though he wants nothing more than someone to talk to.But by now he'd accepted the fact that everyone was afraid of him and a friendship without trust would never work out.One day, he meets a mysterious boy, whose soul he can't read...(The first four chapters were written before the Brendon Urie accusations appeared. I won't include him anymore until that is cleared.)
Relationships: Andy Hurley/Joe Trohman, Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Gerard Way & Pete Wentz, Lindsey Ballato/Sarah Orzechowski, Mikey Way/Dallon Weekes, Patrick Stump/Pete Wentz, Ryan Ross/Brendon Urie, Ryan Ross/Brendon Urie/Dallon Weekes, Spencer Smith/Jon Walker
Kudos: 11





	1. Prologue: A World Full of Colours

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is an idea I've had for a while.  
> It's a soul AU, but not soul mates.  
> Basically, Patrick is either ignored or worshipped for having a special ability and that really pisses him off.  
> Then Pete, the lord and saviour appears and Patrick desperately wants him to be his friend, but Pete has a secret...  
> I don't know if this is good, but I liked the idea, so yeah?

Patrick's known that he wasn't normal since he was a small child.  
And he doesn't like it, quite the opposite actually.  
It all started when he was three years old and all the other kids on the playground were afraid of him because of his mysterious gleaming blue eyes.  
Of course Patrick and his parents had already noticed his abnormal eyes, but they never thought anything about it.  
But when a mother threatened to call the police because she thought Patrick was some sort of vampire, his parents brought him to the doctor.  
They found out that he was a Soul Reader and could look deep into other people's souls to find out their alignment, spirit animal and deepest fear.  
Only about 2% of the world's population had that special ability.  
At first Patrick didn't really know what being a Soul Reader meant.  
He actually thought it was pretty cool at first.  
But that mindset didn't last long.  
Once he started going to school, he had no friends and even the teachers seemed to avoid him.  
Nobody wanted something to do with the weird kid with vampire eyes who spent most of his time watching the spirit animals in other people's hearts.  
The fact that he could look into their souls creeped them out and Patrick understood them, but he couldn't control his ability.  
Every time he looked into their eyes, flashes of their colours, animals and fears would appear to him.  
Sometimes he really felt like a stalker.  
The students didn't necessarily bully him, but they weren't nice to him either. They were afraid of him learning of their deepest secrets.  
He'd tried to make friends a few times, yeah, but they always ended up abandoning him because they forget about his ability and couldn't deal with it. They only talked to them when necessary.  
He was the best student in class, his grades were almost perfect except for sports, but that didn't mean anything when he was completely lonely.  
And the government also wasn't a big help.  
The scientists always wanted to do some experiments on him or use him as a judge or living lie detector, which is actually a pretty stupid idea.  
He could only determine their alignment, not if they were guilty or innocent.  
Sometimes even a red soul could be innocent, or green and blue souls could be guilty.  
The government thought Patrick was much more powerful than he really was.  
Oh well, no wonder since the government had a loaded god complex most of the time.  
Patrick wanted nothing more than real friends, people who weren't scared of him because of his ability or people who worshiped him like he's an angel.  
But that would never happen.  
The only person who's close to being a friend was Andy.  
He had the possibly greenest soul Patrick has ever seen and he's always been kind to him, but he's still pretty distant, because he too thought Patrick's ability was pretty creepy.  
The only things Patrick liked about his ability were the fact that he could watch the soul animals of the people play and the fact that he could quickly avoid red souls who wanted to bully or insult him.  
Some people thought Patrick could find out the people's biggest fears to bully them, but Patrick has never been a bully.  
He's actually very quiet and nice, even though he had a pretty short temper, but nobody except his parents has ever seen this side of him.  
For most, he's just the creepy kid sitting in the back of the class.  
Patrick didn't even know what he wanted to be, he didn't know where his place in the world was.  
He didn't want to be a judge, definitely not.  
He liked music, but no one in their right mind would ever ask him to join their band.  
The person Patrick loved the most is his mother.  
She's always been by his side, since the very beginning, even when he came out as gay and when his father left the family because he couldn't handle his son's special ability.  
Now he was even more of an outcast.  
At least the other students didn't know that he was gay yet.  
She was also the only person he really cared about.  
Patricia always told him that he should make friends, but that's impossible when everyone was prejudiced against him.  
He's sure Andy would abandon him too, he was afraid of Patrick's abilities, afraid of him looking into his deepest secrets, like everyone. But one day, a cute, energetic boy appeared, who was seemingly the only one except for his mother who wasn't afraid of him, and for the first time Patrick really wanted to get to know someone.  
Well, he knew a lot about his classmates from reading their souls, but really talking to them?  
No, talking really didn't exist for Patrick.  
So he tried to befriend the new guy, especially since he's the first person whose soul he couldn't read, but that turned out to be harder than Patrick thought. At first everything worked, Pete and Patrick became great friends. But then Pete changed. Sometimes he was happy and bubbly, and sometimes he wanted nothing to do with Patrick.  
And why couldn't he read his soul? That new kid completely confused Patrick... 


	2. The White Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete Wentz makes a touch starved Patrick very confused.

//Great, school, how much I've missed it!\\\  
Patrick sighed as he stepped into the large school building.  
It was Monday and the summer vacation had just ended.

Patrick should be happy, after all he was one of the best students the shool has ever had, always getting the best grades, but he couldn't when everyone, even the teachers, acted like he didn't even exist.  
He'd even dyed his hair blonde, lost some pounds and left his beloved hats at home in an attempt to look more confident.  
He didn't think it worked.  
He wished he was normal, he wished he didn't have that ,,ability" which only made his life even more miserable.  
The people who weren't scared off Patrick's gleaming, bright blue eyes left him alone when they found out that he could read their souls. He's never had a single friend in his entire life, except for his mother.  
His mother, the only person who had ever treated him like Patrick, and not like some weirdo.  
He loved her so much. The doctors and scientists always said Patrick should embrace his ability, it was one of the rarest genetic mutations after all.  
But Patrick hated it.  
So, he could find out people's alignment, their spirit animals and their biggest fears.  
Nothing amazing, nothing that would ever really help him.  
It had only ever been a hindrance in his life.  
It would be a miracle if he managed to get a normal job. He heard footsteps next to him and his head snapped up.  
Andy Hurley was walking beside him, the only student who even bothered to talk to him.  
Patrick looked into his eyes and was immediately flooded with a bright green colour which was then replaced by a small black dog and lastly he caught a glimpse at a curly haired boy lying on the floor, his crimson blood turning the tiles red. Andy blinked and cocked his head.  
He knew what Patrick was doing, everyone knew what he was doing when his eyes were getting even brighter than usual.  
It bothered most people, they didn't want Patrick know about things they themselves didn't even know.  
But Andy had gotten used to it.  
Patrick wouldn't call him a friend though.  
By now he had accepted the fact that he would never have any friends.  
Andy probably only talked to him because he was feeling bad for him. And if he didn't he'd probably just backstab him like everyone else ,,How are you, Patrick? You look good. I almost didn't recognize you" Andy asked.  
His light voice would always surprise Patrick.  
It didn't suit the muscular boy at all.  
,,Alright, I guess," Patrick sighed.  
He quickened his pace to reach the classroom.  
Andy looked at him with sad eyes.  
,,We could be friends if you wanted to, you know?," he whispered.  
,,It's better if we don't," Patrick rasped.  
,,I've tried becoming friends with so many people, and they all abandoned me."  
He left Andy standing in the hallway and stepped into the classroom. 

Most students were already sitting on their desks.  
They looked at Patrick for a moment, but then quickly lowered their gaze when they realized it was him.  
Patrick walked towards his desk in the back of the room, pulling his stuff out and then sitting down on his chair.  
His eyes were fixed on the small notebook lying in front of him.  
It was titled ,,Soul Punk" and consisted of many lyrics he had written.  
His mother always praised him for being able to work on his music and still get perfect grades.  
The bell rang and Patrick looked up as their teacher, Mr. Armstrong stepped into the room.  
His soul was green and he was one of the best teachers, but even he was a bit afraid of Patrick.  
His soul animal was a shaggy gray dog, most people had dogs or cats.  
Patrick would like to know his own soul animal, but soul readers were unable to read their own soul.  
Behind him was a boy, a bit taller than Patrick, which wasn't that hard, with black hair, a black hoody with unusually long sleeves and black skinny jeans.  
Why was he wearing a hoody in summer?  
He also had smudged eyeliner which looked like he just stepped out of the shower.  
Patrick noticed the troublemaker group, Gerard, Brendon and Frank, in the front of the room looking curiously at the strange boy.  
All of their souls were blue, and their soul animals were a bat, a simian and a brown and white dog.  
Patrick didn't know their biggest fears though, most of the time he snapped out of it before he could read them.  
That was a little to private.  
Maybe they were planning on recruiting the new student for their group.  
When he'd started going to high school, Patrick had actually tried talking to them, but then they had hit him with a water bomb on the back of his head on accident and since then he didn't want to talk to anyone anymore.  
,,Dear students, this is your new classmate, Peter Wentz," Mr. Armstrong explained.  
Most students were looking bored, a new student wasn't the most exciting thing.  
Peter let his gaze wander around the class until it landed on Patrick.  
Patrick looked him straight into the eye, curious at what colour he would be, but nothing happened.  
He narrowed his eyes.  
Why couldn't he read his soul?  
Yeah, most of the time he didn't like his powers, but knowing some stuff about other people even they didn't know was pretty interesting.  
,,Peter, please sit down next to Mr. Stumph. I'm sure he'll explain you everything you need to know," Mr. Armstrong said friendly, pointing at the only free place, next to Patrick.  
Peter's eyes lit up and he sat down next to Patrick.  
,,Hi!," he said excited.  
At least Peter didn't say anything about his eyes.  
That was something at least.  
,,What's your name? You already know mine, but you can call me Pete if you want to."  
,,Patrick," he muttered, looking up to copy something from the board.  
Pete didn't look like he was planning on writing something down.  
He was watching Patrick, curiosity in his eyes.  
,,You should follow the lesson, otherwise you won't make it."  
,,Oh, I don't wanna make it. I already know that I want to be a musician. I don't need good grades for that."  
Naive.  
,,What is going on with your eyes?," Pete asked.  
There it was.  
,,I -"  
,,You're a Soul Reader, right? My old teacher told us about them, it was one of the only things I remembered from her lessons."  
Patrick took a deep breath.  
Now he was going to scare the new guy, good job, Patrick.  
,,Yes, I am. Now you'll probably hate me."  
Pete narrowed his eyes.  
,,No, why should I? It's not your fault. And I think it's pretty cool. Do you really look into other people's souls?"  
,,Almost every person I've met is afraid of me, and those who aren't pity me. But yeah, I can see all of them."  
//Except of yours, for some reason.//  
,,I'm not afraid of you. And I don't pity you either. Some people are just born different than others. And it looks like you are ignoring them too. Maybe if you at least tried interacting with other people, you would make friends."  
Patrick's eyes widened.  
This was the time someone wasn't avoiding his gaze, someone wasn't afraid of him.  
That was probably the longest conversation he's ever had with anyone.  
,,I've tried to make friends so often. It never worked."  
,,With that mindset, you'll never find someone. Look, I don't want to hurt you. I just need a friend, otherwise I won't survive high school and I like you"  
He was pulling his sleeves who had slid up down again.  
Patrick didn't say anything, he just concentrated on writing the stuff from the board down.  
,,What is my colour, by the way?  
//Stop annoying me I'm trying to get something done!//  
,,Don't know. White. I can't read your soul.  
That normally only happens with people who've destroyed their soul, dead people or half dead," he yelled so loud that some students turned around to look at them curiously, but when they realized it was Patrick they quickly looked at their pieces of paper again.  
Pete swallowed hard and looked down at his sleeves, but he didn't say anything.  
Now he finally fixed his gaze on his piece of paper too.  
Patrick looked at him, feeling bad for shouting at him.  
That new kid had been nice to him and he'd scared him - not even with his eyes.  
What an idiot he was.  
He always claimed he wanted friends, yet he rejected both Andy and Pete who were maybe the only people who wanted to be friends with him  
Well, he'd rejected Andy for good reasons, Andy was afraid of him and a friendship without trust would never work out.   
But Pete didn't seem to be afraid of him...  
,,Look, I'm - I'm sorry, I didn't want to be mean, o - okay?"  
Pete nodded slowly, but for the rest of the lesson, he didn't say a thing.  
The bell rang and most students jumped up, ready to go to their next lesson.  
Pete slowly packed his stuff back into his bag, avoiding Patrick's eyes.  
Patrick sighed as an unfamiliar feeling started spreading in his body.  
Pete hadn't been afraid of him like almost everyone else.  
He didn't think his Soul Reader ability was something creepy.  
He was confident, and pretty nice, actually.  
And Patrick couldn't read his soul, that was the thing that intrigued him the most.  
Now he felt really bad for barking at Pete.  
For the first time since probably middle school, he wanted to be friends with someone.  
//Maybe he was right...Maybe I can have friends if I stop blocking out everyone around me.//

Patrick hoped that Pete still wanted to talk to him.  
And maybe Andy too.  
Could he decide how he wanted to live his life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did Patrick change his way of thinking too fast? I don't know, but I wanted to speed up the story a bit since I didn't plan to do a slow burn and Patrick is pretty touch starved. And who could resist the Pete Wentz's charm?  
> And yeah, the most used words in this story will probably be soul, eyes and sleeves😅  
> I'm German btw, so maybe the English is bad.


	3. Friendship?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Patrick doesn't know what attraction is.

When the students left the classroom, Patrick immediately ran after Pete, feeling incredibly stupid for yelling at him when Pete was the first student to not be scared of him.   
,,Hey, Pete I...I wanted to apologize!"  
He turned and looked at the short boy, there was something sad in his dark eyes that Patrick didn't quite understood.  
,,You already did. And I still don't really know what for," Pete explained.  
,,I wanted to apologize for yelling at you. You only wanted to talk to me, I shouldn't have been so mean to you," he avoided his gaze, even though he knew Pete's soul wouldn't up for him.  
He'd say that maybe his powers were out of practice after the long summer vacation, but they had worked perfectly earlier on.  
For some reason, he felt the urge to be with Pete and spend time with him, but he didn't know why.  
Was it because he found it interesting that he couldn't read his soul?  
Or because he actually treated him like an equal?  
And Pete's reaction after he told him that only dead souls were white was also weird.  
Patrick didn't know.  
This was so confusing.  
,,I'm not mad at you, I guess I can be pretty annoying sometimes," Pete sighed.  
,,And you were right to be honest. I should have concentrated on the lesson," he smiled slightly.  
Wow.  
His smile was beautiful.  
Why was it so beautiful?  
Why was Patrick even thinking about his smile?  
He'd never thought about other people's smiles before.  
,,But I still stand by my opinion that your ability is pretty cool, even though I understand that it must be frustrating at times. And if you tried to fit in more, perhaps people wouldn't ignore you all the time. Try to think of yourself as a normal boy, forget your powers for once."  
,,Yeah, I thought about that... Maybe you were right. It's just...Every time I tried to befriend someone they ended up abandoning me because they couldn't deal with my ability."  
For the first time Patrick noticed that some students had stopped in the hallway and were staring at them.  
It was probably the first time they had ever noticed Patrick.  
,,Umm... Could you maybe show me the toilets?," Pete asked.  
Yes, of course Pete wouldn't know the building, he'd just arrived.  
Patrick nodded and showed him the toilets, while his head still swam with Pete's whiskey eyes, his beautiful smile and his empty soul.  
For the rest of the day, Pete and Patrick sat next to each other in every lesson.  
They talked a lot, so much that sometimes Patrick forgot to write the stuff from the boards down, something that never happened before.  
He didn't really know how to interact with other people since he's never really done that, but Pete didn't mind.  
When they were walking through the hallway and people ignored Patrick, Pete encouraged him to smile at them, which really confused them.  
Their souls were green, Patrick knew they were good people.  
Perhaps they just didn't know how to treat him.  
Patrick had tried to penetrate Pete's soul multiple times out of curiosity, but it was blank every time.  
Pete hadn't mentioned his ability a single time, something Patrick was very grateful for.  
It was a good feeling, being able to just be a normal person for once.  
But the other students who quickly lowered their heads when he walked next to him reminded him that his powers were still there.  
When school was over, Patrick and Pete already knew a lot about each other.  
Patrick didn't really know why he liked Pete so much and told him all that stuff, probably because he was funny and nice and treated him like a normal human.  
Not even Andy treated him like one.  
He always looked at him with those deep, sad pitying eyes.  
Now Patrick knew that Patrick's favourite food was pizza, that he had a dog named Hemingway, that he played bass in his free time and that he loved Metallica.  
Pete knew that Patrick's favourite colour was orange, that he played drums and that his favourite food were pumpkin squares by him mom.  
He also probably knew how much he loved his mother, since Patrick talked non - stop about her.  
The only major thing Pete didn't know about Patrick was the fact that he was gay and yeah - Patrick didn't plan on telling him this in the near future.  
Pete also almost worshipped Patrick's eyes, he thought the gleaming baby blue orbs were beautiful and he wished that he had them too.  
Before he said goodbye to Pete and walked home, he looked at him uncertainly. ,,I.. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to be my friend." So. He'd done. He'd asked a person if they wanted to be his friend, even though he knew Pete for one died. If Pete turned out to be evil and backstabbed him, it was his fault. But he didn't think that would happen. He had a good feeling about Pete. Well, except for the fact that his soul was white and he was wearing long sleeved hoodies in summer. ,,Yeah," Pete smiled, his whiskey eyes bright. ,,I'd really like that. And I'm sure Andy would like that to." Patrick stiffened. Pete had probably noticed Patrick talking to Andy and Joe after their biology lesson. Andy had avoided his gaze. He was afraid of his ability, even though he tried to treat him with kindness. Patrick couldn't be friends with him when he was afraid of his eyes. Like almost everyone. ,,Once Andy learns to treat my like a normal person, maybe. He tries to, but it doesn't work." Pete sighed. He'd made his first friend. This was the best school day Patrick's had in a long time.  
His mother had considered home schooling him multiple times, but he'd always rejected that idea.  
He felt like learning in school was easier than at home, and if there was one thing he was proud of it were his grades.  
Pete and Patrick had exchanged phone numbers so they could always text each other.  
Patrick wanted to help Pete study, since his grades were always a bit shaky except for music and sports.  
,,I didn't know that you could change that much in only one day," Andy, who was walking home with him since they were neighbours, said.  
,,That Pete kid quite certainly has some effect on you."  
Andy's eyes were dark and his soul was a bit darker to, not like the fresh grass colour they usually had.  
Patrick also had the ability to kind of detect other people's moods, even though that was much weaker than his soul reading ability.  
A strong ability was radiating from his body.  
Was that - jealousy?  
,,Stop it," Andy snapped, lowering his gaze. ,,Sorry," he mumbled. ,,I know you can't help it." Yes. That was the reason he didn't want Andy as a friend. Patrick didn't know why Andy should be jealous.  
,,He's one of the only ones who treats me like an equal, talking to him is pretty easy."  
He noticed Andy flinching and immediately felt bad.  
,,I try to treat you like a normal person. It's just hard when I'm always reminded of the fact that...that you're not. Sometimes I fear that you could get into trouble because of your ability."  
,,I know. I don't blame you. Goodbye, Andy," Patrick sighed when they'd reached his house.  
He didn't really feel like he and Andy could be friends when he always treated him like a raw egg.  
When Patrick stepped into his house, his mother was already preparing dinner.  
Patrick's mouth watered as he picked up the familiar scent of lasagna.  
Patricia noticed him and looked up, a light smile on her lips.  
,,Hi, sweetheart. How was school?"  
Patrick gently placed his bag next to the table and sat down on a chair.  
,,Great!," he retorted and his mother raised one eyebrow.  
,,Really? You're not usually that enthusiastic."  
Oh, she knew him so well.  
,,I met a new student, Pete. He treats me different than all the other people do, he always makes me forget that I'm a Soul Reader. I really like him."  
His mother's eyes flashed and he immediately recognized a strong greenness and the almost overwhelming emotion of love.  
The lynx in her heart was looking at him with soft eyes and he quickly closed his eyes before he picked up her biggest fear.  
He knew that it was his own dead body.  
After dinner he went to his room to make homework, but this was a pretty hard task when he was constantly thinking of his new friend.  
Friend.  
That word warmed his heart.  
But he still thought Pete was hiding something.  
There most be a reason why he wasn't able to read his soul, right?  
Once he was done it was already pretty late so he took a shower and laid down on his bed.  
When he closed his eyes he fell asleep with the memory of Pete's beautiful smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an explanation:  
> Patrick doesn't want Andy or anyone else as a friend since they may treat him with kindness, but they are still afraid of his ability and he fears that they would abandon him once they found out that they couldn't deal with his powers.  
> The people are scared of the powers since its something unusual they don't really understand. They also know that Patrick was tested multiple times by scientists and doctors, so they think he's some kind of mutant, and they are afraid of Patrick seeing their darkest secrets.  
> Andy wants to treat Patrick like an equal, but he can't since his fear of the soul reading is always there.  
> Pete is not afraid of Patrick's powers at all, he's even interested in them and that's why Patrick immediately wanted him to be his friend, especially since he's so touch starved and Pete is one of the only ones who's showing affection to him.  
> The fact that Patrick can't read Pete's soul is a big help since Patrick has to interact with him to get to know him.


	4. Headfirst Slide Into A Wet Pavement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah this chapter is a little longer than the first ones, and I also like it a lot better.  
> Maybe I'll rewrite the first three, since I'm not entirely happy with them.  
> But yeah, here we have chapter four of Patrick refusing to be friends with anyone but Pete who's he known for like a day simply because Pete wasn't like ,,You're weird".

,,Patrick, dear, wake up!"  
His mother's loud voice woke Patrick up, he groaned loudly and rubbed his eyes.  
A glance at his clock told him that it was already 7'o clock, holy smokes, he was late!  
He jumped up and rushed into the bathroom to take a quick shower and use the toilet, then he opened his closet and dragged a blue shirt and a black skinny jeans out.  
Patrick didn't have enough time to straighten his hair, so he just hoped nobody would notice, grabbed his bag and walked downstairs, taking two stairs at once.  
,,Sorry mum, I overslept," he mumbled and surpressed a yawn.  
,,Well, yesterday was pretty exhausting I suppose?," she blinked and shoved a box with a sandwich and an apple into his hands, the usual strong emotion of love radiating from her.  
If he didn't have his mom, he would have probably starved by now.  
,,Thanks mom."  
,,Have a nice day, sweetie," she said and pressed a wet kiss on his cheek.  
Patrick groaned and tried to break free, even though he loved his mother she could be very overbearing at times.  
This was the first day in a long time where he actually looked forward to school.  
Now he had a friend he could talk to.  
Patrick had surprised himself when he accepted Pete's friendship that quickly, considering the fact that he was afraid to talk to anyone for most of his life.  
But Pete was different, he didn't care about Patrick's ability a single bit and he was nice and carefree.  
A bit too carefree, perhaps.  
But maybe that was something Patrick's organized and reserved nature needed.  
He lived only a few minutes away from the shool, so he didn't arrive late even though he overslept.  
,,Jesus of Suburbia" by Green Day, one of his favourite songs, still rang in his ears when he reached the schoolyard.  
Most students were already there, standing close to their friends.  
Patrick recognized the troublemakers, Gerard, Brendon and Frank, at once, but now Ryan, Dallon and Mikey, who were actually some of the more well - behaved students, were also with them.  
He could understand why Mikey was there, Gerard was his older brother after all, even though it was weird that he wasn't with his classmates, but what were Dallon and Ryan doing there?  
Patrick shook his head.  
The other students didn't care about him, so he shouldn't care about them too - which was pretty hard when you had the ability to look directly into their souls and hearts.  
He'd convinced himself that they would never be his friends because they were scared of his powers, not like Pete, who just treated him like he was normal.  
Patrick scanned the yard and noticed a rather lost looking boy standing next to a crash can and once he saw the black eyeliner he knew it was Pete.  
Smiling, he walked up to him and once Pete noticed him he raised his head, grinning as well.  
The only person to be actually happy that he was there and Patrick's heart started beating faster against his ribcage.  
Well, sometimes Andy smiled at him too but Patrick wasn't feeling that happy when he did that.  
Even though Patrick looked directly Pete's hot whiskey eyes there was still nothing, just a white blankness, but Patrick had decided to not think too hard about that.  
Perhaps his powers were starting to go away, that would be a good thing for once.  
,,Hey, Patrick," Pete greeted him happily, pulling him into a hug.  
At first Patrick froze shocked, but then he started to melt into the hug.  
Oh, it had been so long since he was hugged by someone who wasn't his mom.  
It was a good feeling.  
,,Hey to you too, Pete," Patrick whispered against his neck.  
Then he pulled away and noticed Pete looking at his feet - not because he didn't Patrick to read his soul, he knew he couldn't do this.  
He bit his lip and looked...embarrassed?  
Now Patrick wished he could pick up Pete's emotions.  
Pete's has never looked embarrassed before.  
Yeah, Patrick's only known him for one day, but still.  
,,Ummm...I don't have a partner for the group project."  
It hit Patrick like a lightning bolt.  
The group project!  
He had completely forgotten about the geography group project!  
,,I don't know if you already have a partner, but maybe we could work together..."  
,,No, it would be a miracle if I had one," Patrick retorted dryly.  
,,But yeah, of course we can work together. We need groups of four, though."  
Pete cocked his head and frowned.  
,,Hmmm...I don't know the other students at all yet. Do you know who could still be free?"  
Patrick bit his lip and thought.  
That was one thing he was good at.  
From watching his fellow students in lessons for multiple years, he knew which ones were friends and liked to work together.  
Gerard, Brendon and Frank would definitely work together, they always did even though the teachers tried their best to keep them apart.  
They'd probably add Ray to their group, and Dallon and Ryan would work with the girls, Lindsey and Sarah, since that constellation worked astoundingly well, which meant...  
,,Andy and Joe are still free, I suppose, " Patrick sighed.  
The two of them were actually pretty smart students, but Patrick didn't like interacting with people in general.  
Pete's eyes lit up.  
,,Great! Let's ask them after school!"  
Patrick sighed.  
That would be an very interesting project.

After six long, boring lessons (consisting of Math, Music and Sports which made Patrick think he was dying, but at least he could admire Pete's soccer skills) they walked up to Joe and Andy.  
Patrick kept his gaze fixed on the ground, pretending to be very interested in the ladybug Pete was almost stepping on all the time, but he felt Andy's look burning into his forehead.  
,,Of course, we were already afraid that we wouldn't get a partner!," Joe, the curly haired boy, exclaimed.  
,,Great! Let's meet next week, Friday afternoon," Andy proposed.  
,,Where?"  
,,At my home," Pete chimed in.  
,,My mom would like to see that I've already made some friends!"  
Patrick frowned when he realized that Pete was calling Andy and Joe his friends, even though he hadn't even really talked to them.  
,,Yeah that sounds good," Joe and Andy agreed.  
,,What do you think, Patrick?," he nodded slightly, not wanting to look at them.  
Excited, Pete grabbed three pieces of paper and scribbled down his address for them.  
,,Great! Friday afternoon, guys!"  
Yeah.  
Friday afternoon.  
Suddenly, Patrick hoped that Pete's parents would accept him too. 

When he was walking home, the sky was darkening and before Patrick realized it, it was raining.  
Not a slight rain, no, it was straight up storming.  
Patrick cursed under his breath as he started running, but he didn't think of the wet asphalt and before he knew it he was performing a headfirst slide into the pavement.  
He squeaked when his world turned upside down, his head hit the hard ground and his bag landed next to him, all the books spilling out.  
With a spinning head, shivering hands and a bleeding nose he sat up.  
Everything was blurry, but he noticed three shapes running towards him.  
,,Hey, are you alright?"  
Patrick blinked to clear his gaze and recognized Ryan, Brendon and Dallon standing in front of him.  
They all wore worried expressions, but once they saw that it was Patrick they backed away slightly, quickly lowering their gazes.  
Patrick sighed sadly.  
They didn't even have anything to fear.  
Every time Patrick hurt himself badly his powers were incapacitated for a short time.  
,,Yeah, it's alright," he muttered, his voice sounding like it was coming from far away.  
His mother would definitely send him to the doctor.  
Patrick grabbed his Math book, and they immediately helped him, Brendon taking his Music book, Ryan his pencil case and Dallon the paintbox.  
Even though they were afraid of him, they still helped him.  
Weird.  
That was one weird thing he never understood.  
Gently, they slid the books back into his bag and helped Patrick up, Dallon pulling a tissue out of his pocket, and he wiped the blood from his nose, all while avoiding his gaze.  
,,Thanks," Patrick whispered, grabbing his bag and trying to get away from them.  
Yeah, they helped him but that didn't change the fact that they thought he was some kind of creep.  
His legs however were still weak and shaking and his head swam, he almost thought he would collapse and stopped for a moment.  
Suddenly he felt a body pressing against him and noticed Dallon supporting him, now his gaze wasn't lowered and Patrick could look into his, even though he had to put his head back, but his powers still weren't working.  
,,Relax," Dallon whispered into his ear.  
,,It's alright, we won't hurt you."  
Patrick sighed and leaned back against Dallon, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths.  
When he opened them again, he was already shaking a little less.  
,,He, Stumph, you forgot that," a muffled voice called.  
Patrick turned around and saw Ryan holding his black notebook up, completely drenched by the rain.  
,,My notebook!," he gasped, knocking away Dallon's arms and stumbling towards, Ryan, snatching the notebook out of his hands.  
The pages were so wet that you could barely read the words anymore.  
His eyes started to fill with tears.  
He's had this notebook since he was seven years old, and he'd written all his ideas for song lyrics into it.  
,,I'm sorry that we couldn't save it," Ryan whispered, genuine regret and sadness in his voice.  
,,'S alright, it's not your fault," Patrick choked out.  
By now tears were running down his cheeks and he hoped they would confuse it with the rain.  
He was walking faster, ignoring Brendon, Dallon and Ryan's apologies, only wanting to reach his home to cry himself out.  
Patrick knew that it wasn't their fault.  
He didn't blame them, he only blamed himself because he failed to noticed the wet pavement.  
Ten years of lyrics were gone.  
His eyes were fixed on the last lyrics he could read:

Their last hopes, on him they'd hung  
And they weighed him like a ton  
But perhaps for him he'd none much left to lose  
Tony, don't sweat it  
Keep your hands steady  
You were born on a dare but you were born ready  
Cut the red wire  
Or was that the green wire?  
You're on fire like


	5. Cherry Blossoms and Razor Blades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick learns to be social and Pete messes up.

Patrick was allowed to stay at home for two days since the doctor had diagnosed him with a slight concussion, and just lying in bed while your mother cares for you is definitely something great, but his thoughts were fixed on the ruined notebook.  
He hadn't thrown it away, he couldn't.  
Right now, it was lying in a small box under his bed.  
Patrick had called Pete and told him that he couldn't go to school for the next two days, but he didn't explain exactly what happened.  
He also didn't tell him his notebook was destroyed, Pete didn't even know of it and would probably think Patrick was crazy if he knew he cried over a notebook.  
Pete had wished him a good recovery and said that Joe and Andy hoped he would be better soon too.  
Patrick didn't know what to think about that.  
Maybe Pete was already replacing him with the two boys.  
He just hoped that Dallon and Ryan didn't tell anybody about his accident, but maybe he would end up being bullied after all. 

On the second day, he was sick of just sitting in his room, so he went for a walk through the park.  
It was almost empty since all the students were at school and this park wasn't exactly popular with adults.  
Patrick loved this place, he used to sit under the cork tree all the time and write in his notebook.  
His notebook.  
He sighed and rubbed his temples.  
His mother had promised she would buy him a new one, but that wouldn't change a thing.  
All his lyrics were gone.  
Patrick was about to sit down on a bench when he noticed two people standing next to the pond, seemingly feeding the ducks.  
One of them was a boy with slightly darker skin, like Pete, and bright golden hair and the girl had pretty blonde locks.  
Patrick made a step forward, but then shook his head and turned away.  
They probably didn't want to talk to him anyways.  
But the girl had already noticed him, she was looking at him curiously and nudged the boy next to her who raised his head and looked at Patrick with a rather bored expression.  
The distance between them was big enough for Patrick to not be able to read their souls, his ability was restored now, but he suddenly realized that the girl's eyes were exceptionally bright and gleaming.  
His eyes widened and he slowly walked towards them, immediately being flooded by the girl's green soul colour.  
Patrick felt like he was gonna explode any moment. That girl was a Soul Reader!  
A beautiful, longhaired white cat was sitting in her heart and he lowered his gaze before he picked up her biggest fear.  
,,Um, hey," he muttered once he was standing directly in front of her.  
She smiled brightly.  
,,You are just like me! See, Will, I told you I'd find someone who's also a Soul Reader!"  
The boy rolled his eyes; his soul was dark blue and there was a tiger pacing in his heart.  
,,Don't be so loud, Elisa. What if someone hears you?"  
,,Oh Will, we don't live in the middle age. Soul Readers aren't killed anymore."  
Patrick flinched.  
He didn't know that hundreds of years ago, Soul Readers were killed off.  
,,So, what's you name?"  
,,Patrick," he answered.  
Patrick was still amazed by the fact that he'd found someone who was just like him, and she seemed to perfectly get along with someone who wasn't.  
,,I've never seen you here before."  
,,My parents and I moved here recently since where we come from, people...uhmm weren't that tolerant of my Soul Reader ability. That's why I was home schooled all the time. I never thought I'd find another Soul Reader!," Elisa said, her eyes shining.  
Patrick's heart beat faster.  
The thing he'd wished for since he knew he was a Soul Reader finally happened.  
He'd met someone who was like him, who understood what he was going through.  
,,I didn't either. People are avoiding me all the time since they are afraid of me - I just made my first friend recently. I was feeling so lonely all the time," Patrick sighed and he thought of Pete again.  
Was he bored without him?  
Did he miss him?  
Or was he just having fun with Joe and Andy?  
Patrick was afraid that Pete would replace him when he was given the chance.  
What if he just befriended Patrick since he was the first person who payed attention to him?  
Elisa's voice dragged back into the present.  
,,Well, you don't have to be alone anymore. You can spend time with us, if you want to."  
She suddenly sounded shy.  
,,Yeah. I think I'd like that."  
Patrick would give everything to get as many friends who liked him for who he was.  
,,Why are you here, anyway? I thought you have school right now?," Will asked.  
He scratched his neck and his eyes were dark.  
,,I hit my head and received a concussion, so I can stay at home today. But what are you doing here? Elisa is homeschooled, but you have to go to school too, I suppose?"  
,,No," Will snorted.  
,,I'm already twenty two years old."  
Patrick looked at his golden locks, tanned skin and muscular body and swallowed.  
,,Well, if your head doesn't hurt too much, we can show you something," Elisa offered.  
,,What?"  
,,Just come and see!"  
She tugged at his arm and dragged him through the park, the few people that were there watching at them curiously, until they were standing in front of a small patch of grass next to a cherry tree.  
Lots of beautiful, pink cherry blossoms dappled the ground, it was absolutely breathtaking.  
Patrick loved flowers, something most people would make fun of.  
But he just loved decorating his room with pretty, colourful flowers.  
He didn't have any cherry blossoms yet, however.  
,,Wow," Patrick whispered, bending over to pick up some of the pretty blossoms.  
,,That's so beautiful."  
Elisa blinked at him, her large eyes were shining and she leaned on Patrick.  
,,See? I knew you'd like it."  
Will was staring at the cherry blossoms, his gaze was unreadable but Patrick was too busy staring at the scenery in front of him to pick up the strange boy's emotions.  
,,Elisa?," Patrick whispered.  
,,Yeah?"  
,,Do you know what my spirit animal is?"  
That's was something he's always wondered.  
Since he knew he was a Soul Reader he wanted to know what his own spirit animal was.  
Elisa looked into his eyes for a moment.  
,,Yeah. It's a rabbit. A pretty, small white bunny."  
Patrick closed his eyes, the image of a white rabbit in his heart was vivid in his eyes.  
He spent the entire day with Will and Elisa and for this time, he forgot about his cursed ability, his destroyed notebook and even Pete. 

At school, Patrick was with Pete and as soon as school was over, he was rushing towards the park to meet with Will and Elisa.  
Pete was spending a lot of time with Joe and Andy too and Patrick couldn't help feeling jealous.  
He was getting weird too.  
Normally, Pete was friendly and bubbly but lately he was much more edgy, snapping at people, even the teachers, and getting detention.  
Patrick tried to talk to Pete about it, but he refused to talk to him about it.  
He didn't talk to him much at all lately, during the lessons he was just scribbling into his own notebook like his time was running out.  
He wished he knew what was going on with Pete.  
Patrick still couldn't read his soul, but now it was as black as a raven's feather instead of white.  
When his mother asked him about his day, Patrick just said that everything was alright.  
Pete's behaviour led to Patrick spending some more time with Joe and Andy.  
It wasn't a bad as he'd expected, they started to warm up to him and Patrick was starting to think that maybe, just maybe they could become his friends in the end.  
He also wasn't blind to the love filled gazes they exchanged during the lessons, something he'd suspected for a while, but now he finally had proof.  
Dallon and Ryan also tried to talk to him one, two times and he was grateful for them helping him with his books, but they were still pretty distant.  
His mother bought him a new notebook, a blue one this time, and Patrick already started writing in it, even though it would never replace his old one.  
He'd named this one Soul Punk too, he really liked that name for some reason.  
Patrick had written some lyrics down already, but for some reason he felt like they didn't belong into Soul Punk.  
He'd written them about Pete, about his weird behaviour. 

My friend, oh, you were my picket fence  
I miss spending time with you now and then  
Chlorine kissed summer skin  
I miss spending time with you now and then  
Sometimes before it gets better  
The darkness gets bigger  
The person that you'd take a bullet for is behind the trigger  
Oh, we're fading fast  
I miss spending time with you now and then

He didn't have a title for this song yet, it wasn't even a full  
Pete, Elisa and Will had already received a special heart in his heart, even Will who slowly opened up to him.  
He was grumpy and always complained about everything, but he had a very sarcastic mouth and Patrick laughed at his jokes more than once.  
His mother didn't know about Elisa and Will yet, but he wanted to introduce  
He liked Pete, he really did, but having someone you could talk to about your powers was an amazing feeling, especially when Pete was acting so strangely. 

On Friday however, he couldn't go to the park because they needed to prepare their Geography project with Joe and Andy.  
That was something he'd looked to forward to the entire week.  
They all went to Pete's home together, Joe and Andy being cracking jokes, Pete being completely quiet which his gaze fixed on the ground, and as soon as they arrived, Patrick was a bit disappointed.  
Pete's parents weren't home.  
He'd looked forward to meeting them.  
Oh well.  
Maybe another day.  
Pete had even said that they would meet his parents.  
Weird.  
The house was a very old one, it was dark and didn't look pretty inviting.  
One of the windows had a crack and the mailbox was lying on the ground.  
It looked like a typical haunted house.  
Patrick didn't have a good feeling about it.  
They walked through the kitchen and then upstairs where Pete's room was located.  
Broken bottles and glass shards where lying on the kitchen floor, Pete sighed and threw them into the trash can.  
Patrick frowned, but didn't say anything.  
Joe and Andy looked at each other, concerned expressions on their faces.  
,,Sorry," Pete mumbled under his breath.  
,,My parents had to leave for a few hours and they probably forgot to throw that away."  
Patrick's heart sank.  
Something was wrong.  
Judging by the troubled emotions radiating from Joe and Andy, they thought the same.  
Pete's room was pretty messy, it suited him.  
It was dark, the walls were full of posters of posters of pretty women and soccer stars and some clothes were on the ground instead of the closet.  
Joe and Andy immediately sat down on Pete's bed, looking trying to look excited, but traces of their concern where still there.  
Patrick put his bag down, checked it again to make sure the new notebook was still there and then scanned the room.  
Apart from the posters there wasn't anything interesting.  
He didn't even have a book shelf.  
Patrick had one and it was filled with books.  
Pete's desk was so full with action figures, pens and pieces of paper that he probably couldn't do his homework there anymore.  
,,So, let's start I guess," Pete said, his voice was much quieter than usual and there was sadness going off from him in waves.  
Patrick swallowed hard.  
Something was definitely not okay.  
,,What is the project even about?," Andy asked, trying to sound casual but his eyes were wide with confusion and anxiety.  
,,Some stuff about Australia," Joe explained, grabbing his phone.  
,,I'm gonna google some stuff, alright?"  
,,I'll get some food, you have nothing against leftover pizza, right? We, uh, don't have much right now," Pete wanted to know, managing a weak smile.  
,,Do you have something vegan?," Andy retorted.  
,,Of course. Maybe we even have some vegan pizza left, or vegan sausages," Pete nodded.  
Suddenly Patrick noticed that he had to pee.  
Badly.  
,,Umm Pete, where is the bathroom?"  
,,Downstairs, the first room left to the kitchen."  
,,Thanks, Pete."  
They both went downstairs, Pete to get the pizza and Patrick to use the toilet.

He's still got troubled thoughts.  
He should be happy, after all he'd just met a girl who was just like him and befriended her and her companion, and he was close to become friends with Joe and Andy too, something he's never thought would happen one day.  
But he was worried about Pete.  
That wasn't the Pete he liked so much.  
When he reached the bathroom and closed the door behind himself, his eyes widened with shock and he almost screamed.  
The white tiles were splattered with blood, toilet paper was rolled out messily on the floor and on the sink he noticed a razor blade, also bloody.  
He reached down to pick the razor blade up, the stench of blood overwhelmingly strong.  
Patrick sensed destroyed pieces of soul in the blood, weakly crying for help.  
Slowly, Patrick stumbled backwards.  
He suddenly remembered Pete's shirt with the strangely long sleeves, his weird behaviour, the fact that his soul was unreadable, which meant it had to be destroyed somehow.  
,,No no no, this can't be... He was alright, I was sure he was alright."  
,,Patrick, are you okay -"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm... I'm actually not that proud of this chapter, I feel like it's not that well written...  
> But it's alright, I guess.  
> And something happens, that's pretty good I guess.  
> The rewritten Miss Missing You lyrics are terrible I'm sorry, but the original ones didn't fit (yet).  
> If you came for the gore and death, this will happen in a few chapters, but not THAT soon.  
> The story is very fast paced I'm sorry :(  
> Wasn't my intention 😅


	6. Things Have Changed, Roles Are Reversed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this when I was very tired so it's probably very shitty.  
> I still feel like this story is too fast paced.  
> Oh well.

Patrick turned around, Pete was standing in the doorway, his whiskey eyes fixed on the razor blade in the smaller boy's hands.  
The waves of fear and shock radiating from his body were so strong they almost overwhelmed Patrick.  
,,Pete," Patrick whispered, swallowing hard, his worst fears coming true.  
,,Did - did you do that?," he asked with a raspy voice, pointing at the blood that stained the white tiles scarlet red.  
Suddenly Pete's eyes narrowed and before Patrick could do anything he rushed forward, grabbing him by his shoulders, and snatched the blade from his hands, throwing it back into the sink.  
,,Don't you ever tell anyone about this, understand?," Pete growled, dangerously close to his ear.  
Patrick shivered.  
Even though Pete had become more distant and short - tempered in the last few days, he'd never threatened Patrick.  
He'd always acted as if Patrick was the best thing in his life, but now he was straight up frightening Patrick.  
,,You slit your wrists Pete, why did you do that?!," Patrick called, tears welling up in eyes.  
Pete was his best friend, he should have noticed that he wasn't just being moody.  
He should have noticed that he was harming himself.  
Pete let go of Patrick, slowly stepping back, and shook his head.  
,,Leave. Please. And take Andy and Joe with you. That damn project doesn't matter to me anymore."  
His voice sounded so broken that it sent shivers down Patrick's spine.  
,,You're my best friend Pete, I want to know what's going on!," Patrick said desperately.  
,,I don't deserve you as a best friend. You already spent too much time with me. It would be better if you never talked to me again. You are perfect, and I don't want to taint you."  
Oh, how things had changed.  
Two weeks ago, Patrick had rejected Pete's friendship and acted like he didn't deserve a friend.  
Now it was Pete who acted that way.  
It was only half a month ago that they'd met, Patrick almost couldn't believe it.  
And Patrick knew that he definitely wasn't perfect.  
He felt like he knew Pete since he was a small child, and thanks to him he'd also started bonding with Andy and Joe.  
He'd even found Elisa, who was just like him, and still preferred Pete's company.  
It was thanks to Pete that he'd began to learn how to really live his life, he couldn't leave him now.  
Not when Pete was obviously troubled by something.  
His heart hurt.  
He didn't want Pete to be sad, he wanted him to be happy.  
He wanted to make him happy.  
Patrick'd never felt anything like that before.  
The Soul Reader slowly walked toward the door but he didn't leave, instead he pulled the razor blade out of the sink, careful so Pete wouldn't notice.  
Then, he looked over his shoulder at him.  
,,You can tell me anything, you know? I know what it's like to have problems, and I owe you so much."  
,,Just go, I don't need anyone right now."  
,,I think that you're wrong," Patrick whispered, but that time he left the bathroom.  
He just hoped that Pete didn't have anymore blades, or medications.  
Patrick knew that he had to tell someone, otherwise Pete would end up killing himself one day.  
A part of Patrick would die to.  
But he had the bad feeling that telling Pete's parents wouldn't be a big help.  
Andy and Joe were standing at the stairs, their eyes wide with fear.  
Their mixed feelings confused Patrick's brain so he closed his eyes.  
,,What happened?," Andy asked.  
Patrick just nodded toward the door.  
,,Come, we have to go."  
The two boys looked at each other uncertainly but then followed Patrick out of Pete's house.  
They closed the door behind them and walked the streets in silence.  
Only now did Patrick realize he forgot his bag, and froze.  
His books didn't matter, they didn't really need them anyways, but his notebook was in the bag.  
Slowly, he shook his head.  
He didn't want to disturb Pete again, even if meant losing his lyrics for the second time in a week.  
,,Patrick, what's that in you hand?," Joe asked, his voice suddenly getting higher.  
Patrick held the razor blade up, the dried blood on it still gleaming in the setting sun.  
,,He...he's cutting himself?," Andy's voice was shaking.  
,,Yes. I - I already suspected something like that since he's always wearing shirts with long sleeves and his soul is blank - and if you lose large amounts of blood your soul gets destroyed, since a tiny piece of your soul is stored inside every drop of blood.  
But I've always thought that was in the past, not that he was still doing," Patrick admitted.  
,,I never asked him about it. I suppose that was a very stupid decision."  
All three of them were silent for a very long time.  
Finally, Joe spoke up.  
,,We need to help him. He will die if he keeps doing what stuff. I don't want him to die. He doesn't deserve to die."  
,,Yeah. His parents aren't a big help, I think."  
Patrick thought of the broken bottles of glass and how his parents suddenly had to leave.  
,,Pete wants us to leave him alone, but if we do that, I don't think he'll survive another month. Let's call a mental health hotline.  
They'll tell us what to go."

Andy and Joe went to Patrick's home, his mother had to work late today, and together they'd called the hotline.  
They'd created a big list of things to do to help Pete.  
And they'd also collected some therapists near Illinois, but all of that was useless if Pete didn't want help.  
Patrick called Pete multiple times, but he didn't answer.  
,,Maybe we'd should go back to him. What if he tries to kill himself?"  
,,Hmmm...we can't always watch over him," Joe said sadly.  
Patrick didn't even know anymore why he'd rejected their friendship at first.  
Andy and Joe's support was so important to him.  
,,But he helped me so much...I want to help him too."  
Sighing, Patrick grabbed his phone and sent Pete a text. 

,If you need any help, you can call us.  
We're always there for you.  
Please don't do anything stupid. I think you're my best friend  
We all love you so much.  
Remember Pete, there's a catch.  
There's always a catch.'

Andy glanced at the clock.  
,,It's very late. We have to go home now, goodbye, Patrick."  
He and Joe stood up, looking at him with sad, troubled eyes.  
,,Bye."  
,,Call us if you hear anything new from Pete, alright?"  
Patrick nodded.  
He couldn't sleep that night.  
His thoughts were with Pete.  
What happened to him?  
Who'd hurt Pete that much?

He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down some lyrics that came into his mind 

You know it's strange  
It's a strange way of saying  
That I know I'm supposed to help you  
I'm supposed to help you  
And I've traced your shadows on the wall  
Now I kiss them whenever I'm down  
Whenever I'm down  
Figured on not figuring myself out  
Things aren't the same anymore  
Some nights, they get so bad  
I almost pick up the phone

It wasn't a complete song yet, and it definitely didn't feel like it belonged to Soul Punk, but at least it was something to help Patrick with his back that was almost breaking from this heavy heart.  


Patrick didn't receive an answer from Pete the next day, but at least he'd read the message.  
He should study during the weekend, but he just couldn't focuse on anything.  
Andy, Joe and he had pretty much dropped the project, they didn't care about that one Geography grade.  
It was the first time that Patrick didn't care about school.  
He even forgot meeting Will and Elisa on Saturday, but he went to the park on Sunday.  
Patrick told them everything that was going on with Pete, and even though she didn't knew him Elisa was immediately concerned.  
,,When you told us about him, he always sounded like he was so happy and now... Something must have shattered his entire world. Oh 'Trick, I hope you can save him!," she pulled him into a hug and Patrick rested his chin on her shoulder, slowly stroking her back.  
,,I hope so too...I...I feel like my whole life would be over if he died."  
Will narrowed his eyes.  
,,Mmmph, he always sounded like a weirdo. Wearing eyeliner and stuff you said, right, Patrick?"  
Patrick fixed Will with a hard stare.  
He knew that Elisa loved hanging out with him, but Will had started bothering him a lot.  
Will held up his hands defensively.  
,,Hey, hey, alright, alright!"

Pete wasn't at school on Monday.  
Or Tuesday.  
Or Wednesday.  
,,Do you know where Pete is?," Gerard's brother Mikey asked Patrick.  
This was the first time he'd ever talked to him.  
After Pete, Andy and Joe had all started interacting to him, the others had shook of some of their timidness too.  
,,We're neighbours. We used to hang out a lot, playing video games and stuff, you know," he blushed slightly.  
,,But I haven't seen him in like a week and you are with him all the time at school so I thought..."  
,,No. I'm sorry, Mikey, but I don't know where Pete is," he answered truthfully.  
,,Oh, uhm, okay. Thanks. Sorry for bothering you," Mikey thanked him, scratching the back of his head is then quickly returning to Gerard, Frank and Ray, startling Frank who'd just leaned forward to look deep into Gerard's eyes.  
Patrick looked after him and narrowed his ears.  
That boy was also pretty weird.  
Well, all of them were pretty weird, and he was no better.  
Joe and Andy always arrived pretty late, so he'd no one to talk to right now.  
When he was walking towards the thrash can to throw his trash away, he had his gaze fixed on the ground and accidentally bumped into someone.  
He quickly looked up and looked into the eyes of a large, blonde boy.  
Immediately his mind was flooded with a dark red soul and Patrick took a few steps backwards when he noticed the vulture in his heart striking down at him.  
,,Sorry -"  
,,You're that Stumph boy, right? If I was you, I'd keep an eye on my nice little plaything, if you want to keep him, that's it."  
His eyes gleamed menacingly.


End file.
